NZ Post tops new corporate reputation scale

Best corporate reputation - Posties showing off new uniforms last year. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand Post has come out on top of the 2010 Corporate Reputation Index, the full results of which were released at a breakfast event in Auckland this morning.

This country's state-owned postal service got a higher rating than Australia Post received in an equivalent survey on the other side of the Tasman.

Telecom, which suffered catastrophic failures in its XT system earlier this year, received the lowest ranking in the index.

The Kiwi telco's score was lower than any of the 60 companies measured in the Australian index.

The Corporate Reputation Index measured how 2800 New Zealanders - aged between 18 and 64 - perceived this country's 20 largest employers, using the following criteria: products, innovation, workplace, citizenship, governance, leadership and financial performance.

The New Zealand index, undertaken by research consultancy firm AMR Interactive, followed the same methodology used in similar surveys in 32 other countries.

Oliver Freedman, general manager of AMR Interactive, said NZ Post's ranking resulted from it achieving high scores across all the criteria supplied to survey respondents.

"It shows NZ Post's consistent service in difficult economic times has clearly had a strong impact on how the company is regarded among the New Zealand public," he said.

Mary Forgie, also of AMR Interactive, said most of the companies represented in the index were in attendance at this morning's breakfast event.

Telecom's result reflected the fact that the survey was compiled at the beginning of this year, she said, when the furore around the XT network failures was "at its worst".

Forgie said the performance of the XT network had been improved considerably since the beginning of the year and Telecom would likely get a much better ranking in the next survey.

APN News and Media, which owns the New Zealand Herald, came in at number 19 on the list - behind its main competitor, Fairfax Media, at number 17.

Air New Zealand, ranked number two in the index, received a higher score than Qantas did in the Australian survey.

Forgie said the Kiwi flag carrier's ranking reflected the management style of its chief executive, Rob Fyfe.

"He is very active in terms of external media," she said. "That leadership makes a big difference to a company's reputation. There are a lot of CEOs that are good operational managers but don't find it particularly easy to be strong in external media."

ASB's score was higher than any of Australia's major banks (in Australia) and equal with the number one ranked bank in the Aussie index - ING Direct.

McDonald's, at number 11 in the New Zealand index, came out ahead of arch-rival Burger King, which ranked 16th.

AMR Interactive said the ranking McDonald's achieved reflected the positive perceptions Kiwis had of the fast food chain.

Sky City Entertainment, ranked number 13 on the New Zealand list, received a better rating than Melbourne's Crown casino did in the Australian index, AMR Interactive said.

Forgie said the New Zealand public, particularly in Auckland, recognised Sky City's importance as a tourist destination.

Forgie said corporate governance was a more important to New Zealand respondents than their Aussie counterparts who took part in the Australian survey.

"To me that fits with the ethical position of New Zealanders," she said.

NZ 2010 Corporate Reputation Index

1 - New Zealand Post

2 - Air New Zealand

3 - Farmers

4 - The Warehouse

5 - Goodman Fielder

6 - Repco

7 - ASB

8 - Progressive Enterprises

9 - Bank of New Zealand

10 - Fonterra

11 - McDonald's

12 - Westpac

13 - Skycity Entertainment

14 - ANZ Bank

15 - Suncorp

16 - Burger King

17 - Fairfax Media

18 - Bayleys Realty

19 - APN News and Media

20 - Telecom New Zealand